Sisters Knight
by shadowblade-tara
Summary: Between a new government agency trying to recruit them and a strange man looking for KITT, the girls have their hands full just trying to stay alive. Sequel to The Best Ride.
1. Stranger in Town

**Stranger in Town**

For once, Raven was not with Jess, Heather, KITT, or the computer program KARR had been reduced to. She wasn't at the garage, or even at the small duplex the girls were renting. She was sitting in a café fifteen miles from the town they called home and the city where Borden and Drake worked, nursing a Coke and thinking.

There was a lot of thinking to do. She didn't particularly like the idea of moving, but it was something she had grown accustomed to. Even when her family had finally made a home in the sleepy little town she lived in, they still moved from address to address, making it difficult to think of any one building as a home. Still, Raven was reasonably established in this town. She had a job, she took art classes at the local studio whenever she could afford it – heck, she even had good friends. That was rare for her, a luxury.

She would give it up in a heartbeat to protect KITT and KARR. Whether everyone else knew it or not, KARR was involved. Sooner or later, FLAG would learn about KARR's existence. Then the game would change, and if FLAG couldn't have KITT, what would stop them from coming after KARR?

Despite how caustic the AI had been to her the past week, Raven had grown rather fond of him. Then again, they made a good match.

Raven took a long drink of Coke. It was hardest on Jess. She loved her job, had more friends than Raven cared to count, and absolutely could not stand moving, even when it was simply switching addresses. The girl had been getting more snippy as the days passed, but at least this morning she had been in a decent mood when she went to work. It wouldn't last very long – it usually didn't when a move was imminent – but it was something at the very least. Still, even Jess couldn't take her aggravation out on KITT. As much as it could have been argued that the whole thing was his fault, he was still their friend.

Things were rough, which was part of the reason Raven was holed up here. She usually didn't care for this place, but it was a good place to go when you didn't particularly want to be found. Not that both KITT and KARR didn't know exactly where she was. A few days after Raven had started talking to KARR on the laptop, he had insisted she have a tracking beacon just like what they used with KITT. So Raven threatened Drake into helping her adjust her cell phone to both KITT and KARR. Drake had griped about it the entire time. KITT had viewed it as a sort of step forward – progress made to win KARR over to their side, whatever their side was.

As for Borden, Jess, and Heather – well, they trusted her. If she trusted KARR, then so did they.

As of right now, Raven was humoring the AI. She wasn't sure if his desire to keep tabs on her was out of affection or absolute paranoia, but she chose to think it was a bit of both. After all, they could have killed him.

Her cell phone rang. "Hey."

Jess's voice answered her. "Hey. Where are you?"

"You know that little café on 13th street?" Raven asked.

Jess muttered something under her breath. "There's a café on 13th?"

Raven rolled her eyes. "Who wants to know?"

"Heather and KITT. They're out on the road and apparently there's a lot of power lines where you are or something. They can't tell exactly where you are, and neither can KARR." Jess sounded extremely amused.

"Let me guess – KARR's freaking out?" Raven couldn't keep the amusement from her own voice.

"That's what it amounts to." Jess laughed. "So I'll tell Heather where you are so everyone can stop panicking."

"That would be nice." Raven said dryly. "Tell Heather to come get me around 4, if they don't mind."

"You know they don't." Jess said simply. "Later girl."

"Later." Raven hung up and looked at the phone for a moment before shaking her head in exasperated amusement. So KARR really did care. How sweet.

Not that she'd tell him that. Or maybe she would. It was funny watching him get mad.

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

Raven looked up. The man standing beside her was considerably older than her, his brown curls turning grey with age and the hints of stubble on his chin. He was dressed in regular street clothes, but the leather jacket he wore with the collar turned up seemed to come from a different time period. Like that was a trademark he didn't want to get rid of. She shrugged and took another drink of Coke. "Sure."

"Thanks." He sat down across from her. "I was wondering if you knew this girl I'm trying to track down. She's about your age – name is Raven McDell."

Raven had to hold herself tight to keep from flinching. "Depends on why you want to know." she shot back. "Raven's not in trouble, is she?"

The man laughed. "No. Far from it. See, I think Raven knows a friend of mine, and I really want to talk to him again. He drives a black Trans-Am."

Raven almost choked. What did he want with KITT? "I'll ask her next time I see her. Who should I tell her is looking for him?"

He smiled again. "Tell her Michael Long is looking for a friend of his." With that he stood up and left.

Raven checked her watch. 3:30. 4 o'clock was a long ways away.

/---/

Jess sat down in front of the laptop and began typing. _She's all right, KARR. There's just a lot of static in the comm. links._

The response was almost immediate. She still wasn't entirely sure how KARR knew who was typing without introductions, but it was almost creepy. **Something is wrong. Her vitals have jumped.**

Jess rolled her eyes. _Chill. Someone probably snuck up on her. Not hard to do._

**Are we talking about the same person?**

_There's nothing worse than a smart-ass computer program._

There was a brief pause, which could mean a number of things. Unfortunately, this wasn't a chat room. KARR saw what was being typed as it was typed. Backspace was not used for these conversations.

**Just as bad as a smart-ass car, but you tolerate KITT just the same.**

Jess laughed at that. _We tolerate you too._

**When will the comm. links be fixed?**

All business now. _Unless we get some better technology, maybe never. This is the best we can do with what we got._

Another long pause. **Then this will suffice. Although I will be more at ease when Raven is safely back here.**

_You and me both, KARR._


	2. If Tears Could Come

**If Tears Would Come**

"Are you sure he said his name was Long?" KITT demanded.

Raven sighed in aggravation. Heather and Jess wisely backed out of the firing line. "Yes, KITT. For the last time, his name was Michael Long. For the last time, he wore a leather jacket. For the last time, he was looking for you. Now, will you stop asking me stupid questions and explain just what the heck is going on?!" Her fists were clenched by the time she stopped, and KITT almost laughed at her.

"I'm sorry." he said. "It's just – "

"Just what?" Heather asked, suspicion bright in her eyes.

"Not what you think. He doesn't work for FLAG – or rather, he used to." KITT seemed to sigh. On the small, fold-away table that had taken up a customary perch beside KITT in the garage, the laptop blue-screened.

"Oh, just tell them, KITT." KARR said. His voice was dark as ever, but it lacked its usual malice.

"How did you do that?" Jess demanded.

"I am a superior artificial intelligence." KARR snapped. "Manipulation of electronics is far below me."

"Humble as ever, I see." Heather shot back.

Borden walked into the room with a sigh. "Quit antagonizing the computer program, Heather." he muttered. Heather gave him the look. He sighed. "They were out of Red Bull."

"I'm leaving the room." Heather said.

"Let KITT speak." KARR interrupted.

"Thank you, KARR." KITT said. "What I was going to say was, Michael Long was my partner. After he joined FLAG, they changed his name to Michael Knight."

A long silence followed this statement. "KITT – Michael Knight is dead." Raven said slowly.

"I know." KITT seemed to shift on his axles. "It wouldn't be the first time FLAG pulled him from the brink of death."

"Don't get your hopes up." Borden said cautiously. "It wouldn't surprise me for this to be a trap."

"A rather stupid trap." Heather muttered.

"Or a very smart one." KARR interrupted. "After all, what better way to draw KITT out of hiding?"

Once again, silence fell on them. Drake looked up from across the garage where he was working on restoring an old model Barracuda. He opened his mouth to say something, thought better of it, and closed it again. Heather sighed. "I suppose now would be a bad time to bring up who I ran into today at class." she murmured.

"Hey, a change of topic is good." KITT said, evidently relieved. "Who was it?"

"Some guy named Derek Banachek." she said. "He claims to be the representative of a new government agency. They're looking for recruits."

Jess tilted her head to the side in confusion. "And this concerns us, why?"

"Because she had me run a background check on Banachek before she got home." Drake said, straightening up. "Up until five years ago, he didn't exist. When he finally does show up on the radar, he's automatically the leader of this group called New Foundation."

Raven gave him a look. "How did you do this?"

Borden grinned. "Hacking is only illegal if you get caught."

Heather rubbed her forehead. "They are the result of a childhood with no life." she said pointedly. Borden gave her the bird. Heather simply laughed at him. "So, the thing is, he's trying to recruit from the electronics department at the college. Made me glad my major is English. At least then he had no need to talk to me."

"How has the transfer gone?" Borden asked suddenly.

"Ah, they're giving me the runaround." Heather admitted. "Apparently colleges don't like it if you abandon them mid-semester."

"Makes sense." Jess said.

"Someone's at the door." KITT hissed. They fell silent, looking at the office door. Borden glared at the door.

"Well, aren't you going to knock or something?" he demanded. "You've obviously been standing there for a while."

"Hardly." the man said, stepping into the room. "I just arrived." He was tall, but still a good six inches shorter than Borden. Dark hair was combed neatly back, accenting bright blue eyes. He was dressed neatly and primly in his suit and tie. Heather gave him a once-over.

"Kinda classy for a garage, isn't it Banachek?"

"Please, call me Derek." He smiled at them. "I have an offer for your friend." He motioned to KITT. Heather and Raven exchanged looks. For once, KARR was silent. He hated strangers. "Well, Knight 2000? Will you speak with me?"

"Not if you're going to call me that." KITT spat. "I am not Knight Industries any longer."

"Forgive me." Derek was being excessively polite. "What do you like to be called?"

"KITT."

"Well, KITT, I have a proposition for you. If you haven't realized yet, the former Foundation of Law and Government has been corrupted by its new leader."

"Devon would be rolling in his grave right now." KITT muttered.

"Indeed. I have developed the New Foundation as a way to combat the terrorist group FLAG has become. I wanted to know if you wished to join us." At KITT's silence, Derek continued. "We would be able to protect you and keep you in top condition. We have the best engineers we could find, and we'll even find you a top-notch driver."

"I have those, thank you very much." KITT said hastily. "If you want me to join you, you have to take my friends as well. FLAG is after them as much as it is me."

Derek looked over at the group. "You must be the English major I saw at the college." he said, looking at Heather. She glared back at him.

"KITT's our friend." she said. "You'd better not be feeding him a line."

"I assure you, I'm not."

"Could you explain why you've only existed for the past five years?" Drake asked, coming over to stand beside Borden. Derek looked startled.

"Who are you people?"

"Drake and Borden are my mechanics." KITT said proudly. "Jess, Heather, and Raven are my drivers. Whatever you have to offer me, you offer to them as well. I won't accept anyone else."

Derek hesitated. "Let me think on that." He turned and walked away. Heather snorted in disgust.

"Think away, pompous butt." she muttered. "Think away."

"Oh, wow." Raven commented. "Heather must be pissed. She almost cussed."

"Shut up."

"If you decide to go with this man," KARR began, "what will you do with me?"

Raven didn't hesitate. "Take you with us. Maybe they can design a body for you."

"I'm a reject of Knight Industries." KARR pointed out. "They won't do anything for me."

Heather grinned. "Whoever said anything about Knight Industries? KITT let us take a look around his CPU and we used what we learned to develop you. Right?" She looked at the others, who all quickly nodded. Even KITT voiced his assent.

KARR hesitated. "You're all insane." he said. "But I thank you."


	3. Unwanted Ally

**Unwanted Ally**

The next day found Heather and Jess at the college. They walked through the hallways together, drawing a few stares as usual from the other students. Jess snickered. "I think the local rumor mill thinks we're a couple." she whispered.

Heather chuckled. "It wouldn't be the first time, would it?" she teased back. "Remember high school?"

"Hey, it wasn't our fault they can't see the family resemblance." Jess said.

"That's because there isn't any." Heather said. "Blood means little in the quest for sisters." Jess laughed at her mocking tone. Heather turned serious. "I don't like it, Jess. If Michael Knight has been alive all this time, why hasn't he contacted KITT before now? It's been almost eleven years."

Jess shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe he's just now gotten away from FLAG." She frowned. "Or maybe not."

"Now you're running yourself in circles."

"I'm good at that."

"Still. Tell me, if, oh say, Raven thought you were dead, and you were being kept at the same location she was, what would you do?" Heather and Jess stared at each other for a moment. Jess looked away.

"Do you have to make me look like an idget?" she said, a reluctant grin crossing her face. "I don't know. There's so many questions. Would Raven be safer if she didn't know I was alive? Would exposing myself to her get me really killed? This is all speculation on our part."

Heather nodded. "Point. I wonder if we could find a way to get his fingerprints. Borden has a friend in the police department who can run the prints for us."

Jess tapped her chin thoughtfully. "But if he had surgery done to remove the fingerprints, isn't it irreversible?" She paused. "So that's how he gets away with those tickets!"

"Oh, look a chicken!" Heather teased. "Still, you have a point. But we don't even know if they did remove Michael's fingerprints. They may have only redone them. Or they left them alone all together. After all, this was the early '80s. FLAG may have been advanced, but there's only so far technology goes." She hesitated. "It would prove one way or the other."

"So, how are we gonna get them?" Jess asked. "It's not like we can walk up to him and say, 'hey, can we get your prints?'"

"We'll worry about that later." Heather said. "Right now I'm just glad I finally have my transcript from these schmucks. I swear they have a grudge against me."

Jess laughed. "You're ditching them. They can't have that, can they?"

Heather grinned. "Of course not. They lose tuition money that way." They entered the parking lot and stopped cold. "What the heck are you doing leaning against KITT?" she demanded. Derek Banachek smiled. Heather glared. "Get. Off. Now."

Jess walked up to KITT. "Are you all right?" she asked, glaring daggers at Derek.

"I'm fine, Jess." KITT said. "However, I would like Mr. Banachek to get off of my hood." Derek smiled and straightened up.

"Is that any way to speak to a future business partner?" he asked.

"Excuse me?" Heather bit out. She took a step forward. "I thought I said go away."

Jess glowered at Derek. "Why should we join you?" She crossed her arms. "You haven't given us a reason at all to trust you." Her glare intensified when Derek smiled.

"That's why I'm here." He handed her a computer chip. "This is a holographic projector. Plug it into your computer and you can program it to have any appearance you want. Once you program it, KITT will know where you can plug it in, so to speak."

Heather snorted. "And here I thought KITT didn't have any USB ports." she shot back, sarcasm coating her voice. KITT started to say something, then changed his mind. This wasn't the time to correct misconceptions about his construction. Instead, he tried a different tactic.

"Mr. Banachek, I would like you to back away." he said calmly. "You have made your good will gesture. Now leave the decision in the girls' hands."

Derek looked mildly startled. "You really won't part with them, will you?" he asked.

"No."

He shrugged. "All right. Then my offer extends to them. The ball's in your court now." With that he turned around and left.

/---/

"Well, it's certainly what Banachek said it would be." Drake said. They were back in the garage, oddly enough. KITT was finding this place as comfortable as the old semi had been. Drake had the chip plugged in to a laptop he brought with him from his house. No one was willing to risk KARR's safety. "There's no viruses or anything else that would damage his CPU if we decided to use it."

Borden, who had been leaning over his shoulder, nodded and turned to KITT. "What do you think? Is it worth it?"

"Well, it would come in handy." KITT mused. "Driving around without a driver isn't the best way to lay low."

"I'll say." KARR said. His laptop was perched on Raven's knees as she sat cross-legged on the ground by KITT. "People always seemed to panic when I did it."

"That might have had to do more with you breaking the speed limit than driving around with no one behind the wheel." KITT shot back.

"So, what do you want to do?" Heather asked, leaning against her brother. "You wanna take the risk, or would you rather wait it out and see what happens?"

KITT hesitated, but only for a moment. "Let's risk it. Drake, let's see what we can do about constructing a fake driver." He seemed to smile as he spoke. "And then see if we can't give KARR some semblance of a body."

KARR seemed startled. "A holographic human body?"

"Why not?" KITT asked reasonably. "It would at the least be roomier than the laptop is."

"You say that like you have such experience." KARR snipped. "Oh, all right. I will consent, but I choose the human form."

KITT laughed. "Then let's get on it, shall we?"

Borden nodded and turned to Drake with a grin. "You heard the AIs, pal. Let's get on it."


	4. Unexpected

**Unexpected**

KITT parked in the college lot, waiting patiently for Heather to leave. This time he didn't have to tint the windows so no one would know there was no driver. The hologram Banachek had provided him with was working rather excellently, and it took very little power to manipulate compared to his other features. Certainly Turbo Boost took more energy than this simple illusion, and he had used that one more times than he cared to count. His scanners picked up on Heather's vitals, and he stepped out of the car and leaned against the door.

Apparently the human form he had picked out was a bit more presentable than he thought. He had chosen a male form in his mid-thirties, well built, with dark hair and dark eyes. (think Mike from KR2008) He was dressed casually, in jeans and a collared shirt, but now that he looked around most of the male students weren't dressed like that. He wondered, briefly, when the style had changed and then dismissed the thought. That wasn't a concern of his. He wasn't drawing unneeded attention, and that was all that mattered. Aside from a few females staring at him, most of the students ignored him.

"Is that your car?"

KITT turned towards the source of the voice. He had been practicing this with Borden and Drake all day long. His scanners picked up on the man. "In a sense." he responded, careful to keep the electronic tint from his voice. "Who are you?"

"Oh, I'm Michael Long." the man said with an easy smile. "A friend of mine used to drive a car like that. I was wondering where you bought it."

KITT felt himself freeze. So this was the Michael Long that Raven had seen. He forced himself to respond neutrally. "I don't believe there's another car quite like this one." he said, trying to sound like any male with a new vehicle. "It's custom."

Long grinned. "Put some good work into it." he said, looking over the vehicle. "Hey – I didn't catch your name."

The same phrase Michael was fond of using when someone refused to introduce themselves. "My name is Kitson." he replied. His scanners zeroed in on Heather. He made sure he raised his voice just enough for her to hear. "I'm here to pick up a friend."

"Kitson!" Heather skipped to a halt just beside him and gave him a hug. To KITT's relief, her hands didn't go straight through the projection like he had feared. "This is a surprise. I haven't seen you in years!"

"I stopped by to show off." KITT admitted with a grin. "You should see my brother. He's really grown up." Heather chuckled and turned her focus to Long. "Heather, this is Michael Long. Apparently a friend of his owns a Trans-Am like mine. He was just telling me about it."

"Oh, really?" Heather smiled up at Long with her best clueless grin. "I don't think there's any car like Kitson's."

"We need to go." KITT said suddenly, detecting Heather's discomfort. "I'll talk to you later."

"Oh, most definitely." Long gently touched the trunk of the car, gazing at it almost lovingly. "I'll see you around." He turned and left. Heather grinned.

"Now we got prints." she muttered. "Showing off, you say? You haven't seen the looks the girls are giving you."

KITT grinned. "Are they good looks?"

"Do you remember the looks girls gave Michael?"

"Yes."

"Well, now you have them as well."

"Interesting." KITT watched as she climbed into the driver's seat. He walked around to the passenger's side, made a show of getting in, and vanished. "What was that you said about prints?"

"Jess and I thought about it." Heather admitted. "I'm not convinced that's Michael Knight. She's not convinced he's not. So we figured fingerprinting ought to do the trick. He just left a nice set of them on your trunk."

"What if I think he is?" KITT asked quietly. "He has some of the same mannerisms."

"Jess, Raven, and I share some of the same mannerisms." Heather pointed out dryly. "That doesn't mean we're the same person." She sighed. "Let me run the prints. For my own peace of mind. If it turns out that this isn't who we think he is, and we had the proof and something goes wrong because we didn't act on it, I'd never forgive myself."

KITT sighed. "Point. Let's go." With that he allowed Heather to guide him away from the college.

/---/

Back in the garage, Jess and Raven gave KITT's new form looks of appreciation. "Nice." Jess murmured. "Just how many girls did he have drooling all over him?"

Heather laughed. "Almost as much as he had drooling all over the car."

"Gee, I can't imagine why." Raven said dryly. "You should see what KARR did."

Heather gave her a look. "I'm almost scared to ask." she commented. "What did he do?"

"Show them, KARR." Raven was positively smirking by now. The laptop blue-screened. KARR emitted an exasperated sigh.

"Oh, all right." There was a brief sound of static, and suddenly Heather noticed the webcam attached to the top of the computer. The lens focused, and an image appeared in front of them. To Heather's amusement, he looked almost like he could have been KITT's brother – a bit older, a bit stronger, with blond hair and blue eyes. He was dressed similarly to KITT's hologram, the color tone a bit darker. She couldn't help her grin.

"I have to ask – what's your name?"

KARR responded immediately. "Carson."

Heather laughed. "Kitson and Carson. So what's our story – siblings?" she teased.

Drake frowned. "Well, since they aren't exactly identical, we figured it would be the best way to explain them. Banachek doesn't have to know his design worked."

"Actually, it's not Banachek's design." Borden piped up. He got out from underneath the Cuda's hood and wiped his hands on a grease rag. "It's far too high-tech for some government pinhead to have made it. I'm thinking our Miles wanna-be has a few engineers working for him already." He turned his focus to Heather. "His recruiting at the college may have been more successful than we realized."

Heather shook her head. "I need a favor of you. Do you still have baby powder from when Hannah was here with her kid?" she asked Jess. Jess nodded. "Get it for me. Mr. Long left a set of prints on KITT's fender. I want to get them." She turned to Borden. "Does your friend at the police department still owe you a favor?"

"Yes." Borden said slowly.

"When we get the prints, have him run them." she instructed. "That should tell us who this man really is."

Borden hesitated, but only for a moment. He glanced at KITT, then nodded. "You'll owe me one."

Heather laughed. "I always owe you one." As everyone scattered to get the things they needed done, KITT and KARR exchanged looks.

"Long found you?" KARR asked.

KITT lifted his chin. "Yes." He hesitated. "Do you share their skepticism? I believe he might be my partner, KARR."

"I know you do." KARR said. "Let the girls be skeptics. In case you're wrong, they'll keep anyone from harming you. In the mean time, I want to show you something I found online." KITT nodded, and the two holograms vanished from sight.


	5. Instance of Action

**Instance of Action**

"How did you get home so fast?" Borden straightened up from the Cuda he was still working on. He had it almost ready. All it needed now was a new paint job and it would be good to go. Heather wondered briefly what he was going to do with it, but that thought was far from her mind. She kept her head down and her hair in her face. KITT's hologram appeared beside her, obviously worried. Heather noticed with a good deal of relief that Jess and Raven were still at work, Raven had her laptop with her, and Drake was nowhere to be found. This wasn't a conversation she wanted to have with everyone just yet. "Heather, you aren't supposed to be home for another half-hour."

"I found a back road and sped." Heather said tartly. Her anger was starting to bleed out into her voice. "You do it all the time."

"You don't." Now Borden was giving her the look. Even with her not looking directly at him, she could still feel the weight of his gaze on her. "All right, KITT, what happened?"

"I don't know." KITT sounded slightly panicked. "She won't tell me. She just got in and left."

Borden came to stand in front of her. Heather clenched her fists. "Hey. Look at me." She did. Her lip was swollen and bloody, and a bruise was forming on her forehead. Borden's eyes narrowed. "I take it that's not all the damage?"

"No." she said shortly. "But he looked worse."

"That's my sister." Borden set aside his oil rag and went to wash his hands. "I'll help you get the blood off. So who pissed you off?"

"More like who I pissed off." Heather sighed. "Paul caught me off-guard."

KITT hissed. "_Him?_"

"Yeah. We got into a bit of a scuffle. He left with a broken nose and hopefully a few broken ribs as well." Heather grinned. "I'm not one for randomly beating the crap out of people, but he deserved it."

"What did he want?" Borden came back with a wet washrag and gently dabbed at her lip. Heather winced, but held still.

"He wanted to know who KITT's new driver was." she said. "And who was sniffing around asking questions about him."

"What did you tell him?" KITT asked.

"Nothing. I don't know who Long is, so I'm not going to rat him out, and there's no way I'm telling him about the holograms. But he does know that we still have you. The AI, I mean, and not the car." She grinned at him as best she could. "He thinks we have KARR as well, but I told him to go check the junkyard. That was when he swung at me. Apparently he still doesn't have any patience."

Borden sighed. "You aren't going to be able to hide this."

"I know. Just give me a bit to calm down and I'll be fine." Heather looked around. "What happened to the clock?"

"Fell off the darn wall again." Borden said with a shrug. "It's almost time for Jess and Raven to call KITT. They'll be expecting you to go with them."

"KITT can handle it." Heather said. "I'll be safe here."

"What are you going to do while I'm gone?" KITT wondered. "Help Borden with the Cuda?"

Heather laughed. "Hardly. I have my own baby to work on." She turned to Borden. "I think I have the parts to fix that Colt back there. Think I'll have a crack at it and see what happens." Borden nodded.

"Just be careful. The last thing I need is for you to hurt yourself."

"Hey, I'm not that bad with a gun!"

"You're fixing a gun?" KITT smiled in amusement. "No – I probably don't want to know. I'm going to go get Jess and Raven now. KARR's trying to hail me." The hologram vanished and the Trans-Am started up. "I'll be back soon. Please don't leave – either of you." Heather and Borden nodded, and KITT left the garage with tinted windows. Heather sighed.

"I think KITT's still getting used to the hologram thing." she said.

"That's all right." Borden commented. "So am I. Come on, let's see what we can do with that revolver you picked up."

"Oh, we can do great things with that revolver, my brother." Heather said with a grin. "Very great things."

/----/

Raven slid into the passenger seat with her laptop resting on her knees. The screen was blue, as it usually was when KARR was an active presence in the computer system. Jess quickly got into the driver's seat and KITT switched back into manual. They pulled out of the parking lot and were back on the road before KARR spoke.

"You are tense, KITT." KARR commented. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." KITT said calmly. "I'll let Heather explain that one. In the meantime, I want to know what Paul Travers is doing here."

"Paul?" Raven hissed.

"He's back?" Jess's eyes flickered in anger. "He's lucky I wasn't on campus with her. I would have beaten him to a pulp!"

"According to Heather, she already got him good." KITT said darkly. "KARR, you have more direct access to FLAG's internet service. Can you hack it and tell me what mission sent Paul back here?"

"If I can't, there's something wrong with me." KARR replied. The screen changed, turning black and then bringing up a page done entirely in binary. KARR scrolled through the binary, entered a few lines of code, and brought up a different page. Raven stared at the screen for a moment and shook her head.

"I'm glad you know what you're looking at." she muttered. "I sure don't."

"That's why you have me." KARR said, sounding distracted.

"Aw – KARR actually said something nice!" Jess teased.

"KITT, eject her please."

"Hey!"

"According to the FLAG operatives, Paul Travers was sent here to check on Banachek." KARR reported, ignoring Jess for the moment. "Apparently they want Banachek to shut down New Foundation and send their operatives and technology to FLAG. Travers already sent his report. Banachek was less than cooperative. Something about never letting a wrong go unavenged."

Jess and Raven exchanged looks. "That doesn't sound good." Jess murmured.

"No, it doesn't." Raven agreed. "KARR, is there anything in there about Long?"

"No." KARR admitted. "Although there is a file about an undercover operative, but the file is empty. There is no information."

KITT stayed silent. He wanted so badly to believe that Long was Michael Knight. They were so similar, and KITT missed him so very much.

They weren't that far from the garage when KITT's audio picked up something he never wanted to hear. Machine gun fire, the scream of metal being torn, and the staccato beats of a semi-automatic or revolver being fired. "Jess – Heather and Borden do not own machine guns, do they?"

"No." Jess said immediately. "I would know about it if they did."

KITT took control of the car and floored it. "Borden and Heather are in trouble. I'll try to raise Drake and see where he is. Maybe he can get to them."

"Hurry." Raven said, leaning forward to stare out the windshield. "From the sounds of it, they're outnumbered."


	6. Proof Negative

**Proof Negative**

KITT slammed on the brakes just in front of the garage. "I found Drake." he announced. "He will be here as soon as he can." Jess and Raven nodded. Jess leaned forward and peered through the window.

"I can't see anything." she muttered. "Didn't Borden say something about infrared scanners?"

"Of course." KITT activated the scanners and brought up an image on the screen. "Borden and Heather are in the back room. The door that leads into the main garage has been barricaded off, and there are three men with automatic weapons surrounding it. The back door is clear. I don't understand why they don't leave out the back."

"The back door locks from the outside." Raven said suddenly. "Drake told me they keep it locked at all times. There's a key hidden under the mat in the back." She flung open the door, set KARR's laptop gently on the seat, and raced around back. Jess quickly followed her. KITT started to protest, then sighed.

"They have no self-preservation instincts at all." he muttered. KARR emitted a sound that was something like laughter.

"I could have told you that." he commented.

Something else came up on KITT's scanners. "Raven! Jess! There are more men coming up behind you, all armed! Raven!"

"_I hear you, KITT."_ Raven's voice came over a bit staticky. KITT quickly ran a different kind of scan. Why, oh why did the garage have to use lead impliments?! _"KITT, if you can get around here and guard our backs, we can get Heather and Borden out and get the heck out of dodge."_

"I can do it." KITT fired up his engine and backed out quickly. The gunfire suddenly came back. A quick check, and KITT realized the makeshift barricade was no longer in place. Heather and Borden were literally fighting for their lives. "Hurry! There isn't much time!"

"KITT, there's someone approaching us." KARR snapped. "I think it's Long."

KITT almost stalled out in shock. Why now?

/---/

Heather quickly reloaded her little semi-automatic .22 pistol as Borden covered her back with his .45 Sig. "Hurry up, girl." Borden grunted. "We don't have all day!"

"This would work better if I had a bigger gun!" Heather shot back. She slammed a fresh clip back into the gun, reloaded the chamber, and opened fire again. "Little .22 sized holes aren't doing much to stop these guys!"

"Not to mention we can't actually hit them unless they show more than their guns." Borden muttered under his breath. "Right now all we have is suppressive fire."

"And Jess and Raven have the cell phone." Heather added darkly. Once again, she popped off a few rounds at someone who stuck his head just a little too far into the doorway. This time her shot went clean in between his eyes, and he dropped like a stone. "Bulls-eye!"

"Interesting term." Borden commented. "They're just as stubborn."

At that moment the backdoor opened. "Heather! Borden!"

"Jess, clear out!" Heather shouted. "We can't keep – "

Her words were cut off by another round of gunfire, this time coming from the back. Borden immediately moved to cover the front door, and Heather moved to the back. Her little gun wasn't much if she aimed for the chest, but she was pretty good at head shots too. She slid up next to Jess and pushed her inside the room. "Where's KITT?" she demanded.

"I think someone stopped him before he could get back here." Jess said shakily. Her eyes were wide in fear and shock. Raven only looked slightly less startled. A firefight was so much more terrifying than a minor car accident with no fatalities. Heather and Borden were the only ones not showing fear, and that was probably due to the fact they were the only ones keeping everyone alive.

/---/

KITT's processors were working furiously. "KARR, stay silent for now." he instructed.

"Don't have to tell me twice."

Long stepped into the alley that lead to the back of the garage. KITT froze. Why Long had to pick the one spot where KITT couldn't just get around him and get to the girls, and he couldn't even Turbo-Boost over the man due to lack of space. Long smiled brightly, and it was almost Michael's smile. "KITT! You remember me?"

KITT couldn't keep his voice from shaking. "I couldn't forget you." He couldn't bring himself to call the man by Michael's name, not yet. It could be, it was so close, and yet some of Heather's skepticism was rubbing off on him. He just couldn't think straight with that man standing in front of him. "Where have you been? It's been so long."

"I had some things I had to do." Long said gently. "It wasn't safe for me to come back. But I'm back now, KITT. I promise." He reached out to touch KITT's hood, and KITT backed away. "Please, KITT. I had no choice."

"I don't know." KITT admitted. "But it doesn't matter right now – we have to help the girls."

"You mean those chicks who kidnapped you?" Long demanded. "You do realize FLAG has them pegged as terrorists, right?"

"Terrorists? The girls?" KITT almost laughed. "That's not possible. You should know that."

"That's what FLAG thinks of them." Long said with a shrug. "I'm just reporting the facts, pal."

"But I cannot allow them to die!" KITT protested. "My promise keeps me from doing so! My promise to you. I finally kept it."

"What promise, KITT?" Long demanded. "We need to go. The Foundation needs us."

KITT knew what sorrow felt like, but he had never felt betrayed before. Not even when FLAG wanted to destroy his memory of Michael. This was betrayal, that they would use someone he had cared for against him. "KARR, I need a favor."

"What?"

"I need to access some of your programming." KITT said quietly. "I can't get around him, and there's no room to Turbo-Boost. The only way to get to the girls is to go through him, and I can't do that the way I am now."

"You do realize that, if we link this way, we'll never get rid of it." KARR pointed out. "You'll always be able to access me, and I'll always be able to access you."

"I know. Ironically enough, I trust you."

"Then I consent." KARR said with a sigh. "Let's do it. It should only take a few seconds."

"I'm not sure the girl has a few seconds."


	7. Better Things

**Better Things**

The link up didn't take long. KITT and KARR didn't bind themselves together as tightly as they could have. There was simply an open channel between them, where they could trade programs and lines of code as they saw fit. KITT asked for the right programming, and KARR sent a copy of it to him. The preservation of KARR's life above anyone else's was considered his greatest weakness, but KITT needed that programming if he wanted to save the girls. Long was a threat to him – that much wasn't hard to convince himself of. Once that fact had been established, the rest of it wasn't hard. KITT backed up a bit and gunned the engine, shooting off into the alley, completely disregarding Long's presence.

Long got lucky. He jumped to the side at the last minute, his hip glancing off of KITT's fender. KITT didn't let himself focus on the sound of the man's hip breaking, or of the subsequent screams. There was nothing else he could have done. "I detect nine people in the front of the garage now." he announced as calmly as he could to KARR. "They must have taken out a few of them. There are eight – no, seven – in the back."

"Drake is here." KARR added. "He's armed and heading into the front of the garage. He should be opening fire any minute now."

"Does he know Raven and Jess are in there as well?" KITT wondered.

"Possibly. He doesn't really have to. There's plenty of lighting in there to avoid killing the wrong person." Quieter, he added, "I hope."

"I heard that, KARR."

"Shut up." A pause, then, "Ahead of us."

"I see them." KITT said grimly. He skid to a halt in between the gunmen and the back door and swung his passenger door open. "Borden! Get the girls out!"

"Not a problem!" Borden moved back a little, covering Jess and Raven as they made a hasty retreat to KITT. Heather stood there for a moment, staring at Borden. "Go, Heather! Get out of here. Drake and I can handle this."

Heather hesitated only long enough to grab a few extra clips. She held them tight in one hand, her grip on her gun getting tighter by the minute. "Take care of it and get out." she said tightly. "No heroics."

"I don't do heroics, girl." Borden muttered. "You know that."

Heather laughed a little despite the severity of the situation. "Yeah, but we've never been in a firefight before. Come on – we can all get out the back!"

"Raven!"

Raven grabbed Heather's arm and pulled her back to a safe distance. "She's right. Come on, get out of there!"

Borden cursed, popped off a few extra rounds, and ran out the back with Heather and Raven. "Drake, we're clear!" he shouted.

"Gotcha!" The response was faint, but it was enough. The staccato beats of his 9 mil ceased, and for a moment KITT allowed himself to think that this was over. He should have known better. More gunfire opened up, more machine guns, but this time KITT was pretty sure they weren't the same weapons FLAG soldiers were using. Heather stopped with one foot in KITT's backseat, Borden in the process of pushing her in.

"Those sound like .22s." she murmured, confused.

"Probably M-16s." Borden grunted, shoving her in the back with Jess and Raven and climbing into the driver's seat. "Let's circle around and pick up Drake, huh?"

"I'm with you." KITT fired up the engine and cut a path through the parking lot on the other side of the garage. Earlier there had been at least twenty cars with people all around the place – making KITT take the alley. The gunfire had driven all the humans away from the area. KITT had no problems mowing down the occasional car that got in his way.

"What does it matter what kind of gun they're shooting?" Jess demanded.

"People don't switch guns in a firefight." Borden said tightly. "That means Drake probably has backup in there, but I have the bad feeling it's Banachek and his men. The last thing I want is to be in that man's debt."

"If it gets us out of here, I'd be willing to owe Devon one." KARR grumbled from the laptop. KITT couldn't help but chuckle.

They skid to a halt just outside of the front door. The passenger door swung open and Raven barely got the laptop out of the seat in time for Drake to slide in. The door slammed shut and locked, and KITT was once again back on the road. In the backseat, Jess was shaking. "This is ridiculous." she muttered, her voice about to break. "I mean, what did we ever do to them?"

"We kept KITT and KARR from them." Raven said blandly. She always seemed to handle stress better than any of them. "That was more than enough."

"But the garage was our sanctuary!" Jess cried. "Where are we going to go from here?"

Heather said nothing. She simply stared straight ahead, an odd look in her eyes. "KITT – what took you so long to get back there?" Her voice was slow and steady, as if she was trying to think about anything other than the firefight. KITT seemed to flinch at the question.

"I got held up." he admitted.

"Long." It wasn't a question, but KITT answered anyway.

"Yes."

Now they had Jess's attention. "Was it really Michael Knight?" she asked, sounding eager.

"No. It was someone else."

For a moment, there was silence. Drake was the one to break it. "I wonder if this New Foundation has a thing against revenge." he muttered darkly. Raven laughed.

"I'm with you on that one." she said with a vicious smile. "No one messes with our friends and gets away with it. Right?"

"Right." Jess agreed.

"Let me get this straight." Borden said suddenly. "Are we on Banachek's side now or what? I thought we had agreed to tell the pompous jerk to blow it out his ear."

"Aw, you censored yourself." Drake teased.

"That's because Heather's sitting behind him." KARR said helpfully.

Borden laughed despite himself. "The point remains. What do we do? Can we really protect KITT and KARR on our own?"

This time the silence was longer and far more charged. Heather simply sat there, running the possibilities through her mind. Just how determined was FLAG, and how much more of a threat would they become if they learned about KARR's existence? Jess fidgeted in her seat, alternating leaning against Heather with Raven. She couldn't keep the recent images out of her head. That was only a fraction of FLAG's firepower, she was sure of it. How much more did they have at their disposal? She didn't know. Raven, for her part, glanced at the laptop in her lap and sighed. She already knew.

"We have to join them." she admitted quietly.

Heather and Jess nodded. "It's the only way to protect us all." Jess said. "We can't let them get that close again."

"In that case, I should tell you – one of the soldiers who just saved our butts gave me an address." Drake said. "I'm guessing it's where we meek Banachek."

"What address?" KITT asked, finally happy to have something productive to do. He hated just sitting around and watching everyone else do the dirty work.

"75 St. George St in Wilakie." Drake responded.

"I hope you guys are comfortable." Borden said dryly. "That's at least seven hours away."

"We'll deal." Heather said, leaning her head against the window. "Let's just get there."


	8. A Team Like No Other

**A Team Like No Other**

It was less than the seven hours Borden had predicted. Kitt had let Borden go at his own desired speed, so they blazed down the highway at somewhere around 100 mph. It was an extremely silent ride. Jess still looked a little pale, Raven was busy texting Karr, and Drake and Borden seemed to be respecting the need for quiet.

Heather could have been sleeping, she was so still. Her eyes were closed as she rested her head against the window, but her mind was racing. _Too fast for me to focus, but not fast enough to blank it out,_ she thought grimly. Her body was crying out for rest, but her mind refused. She simply held herself still and waited for the world to slow down enough so she could get back on.

Jess glanced over at Heather. She knew her sister well enough by now to know when something was wrong. Heather and Raven had their ways of dealing with shock – Raven ignored it until it disappeared and Heather let it wash over her if there wasn't something to immediately take her mind off of it. Jess wasn't dealing as well as she would have liked. Then again, a firefight was significantly more terrifying than a car accident. She needed to talk. Anything to keep the images from behind her eyes. Jess gently nudged Heather's shoulder. "Are you all right?" she asked quietly, her voice shaking only slightly.

"I think so." Heather commented, her own voice surprisingly calm. "Can't tell if I'm in shock or if my mind actually has something to say." Jess chuckled.

"Feel like you have ADD?"

"That's about it." Heather opened her eyes. "That wasn't Michael Knight."

"No." Jess agreed. "Someone was pretending to be him."

"Probably someone at FLAG." Heather muttered. "They would know enough about Knight to do a decent mimicry."

"But why?"

"I don't know."

"I can tell you who the guy was." Drake said suddenly. Everyone's attention suddenly focused on Drake. "That's what I was coming by to tell you. The results from the fingerprinting came in. His name is Daniel Moore, and he's an undercover operative for FLAG. A very good one."

"Not good enough." Kitt said darkly, pain evident in his voice. "He didn't know about the promise I made Michael." He hesitated. "I feel so stupid. There's no way Michael could have –"

"There's nothing stupid about hope, Kitt." Raven said quietly.

"That doesn't change the fact that I feel stupid." Kitt grumbled.

Jess looked at the dash as well as she could from her position in the back. "You shouldn't. There was no real way of knowing if that was really him until the prints came back."

Kitt made a sound of contempt. "Michael was shot at point-blank range in the chest. He only lived long enough to make me promise. There shouldn't have been any doubt at all." His voice got quieter as he continued. "I watched his heart stop."

Heather flinched, blinking away sympathetic tears. Raven looked up from the laptop, her eyes darkening in anger. "As you yourself pointed out, FLAG could have saved him."

Jess nodded. "Yeah. You can't beat yourself up about this."

"Besides," Heather said darkly, "it won't happen again. We'll see to that." Borden and Drake nodded assent. Karr laughed.

"I'm almost scared to ask what you plan on doing." he commented.

Raven grinned down at the laptop. "Then don't. You're happier not knowing."

Kitt groaned. "That's never a good sign." he muttered. "Just please don't kill the man. There's really no need for that."

Heather leaned forward. "Remember what I told you about protecting our own?" she asked.

"Yes."

"That includes things like this. He hurt you. He used your friendship with Michael Knight and shoved it in your face, knowing you wouldn't be able to do anything so long as there was that _slim chance_ that Knight lived." She stopped herself for a moment, pure rage making her shake slightly. "We have beat the crap out of people for less than that. Let us take care of him. Whether he lives or dies is his dumb luck." She leaned back into the seat with a sigh. A quick glance at Jess and Raven confirmed her suspicions. They already had something resembling a plan in mind.

Let them have their fun. Heather had something equally as important to take care of.

"We're there." Borden said tightly. He brought Kitt to a stop and simply sat there. The address had led them to an abandoned shopping center. While the parking lot was completely empty and the building crumbling to dust, a spotless black van sat underneath one of the few working street lights. The sun was setting by now, and the lights had just clicked on. Borden muttered something not-nice under his breath. "He does know how to make an entrance."

"He's overcompensating." Raven muttered. Heather and Jess exploded into sniggers. Drake smirked.

Banachek got out of the van, followed by two others: a young blonde woman dressed in Army fatigues and a tall, lanky boy about Heather and Raven's age with messy dark hair and dark eyes. He was dressed in casual clothes and looked distinctly out of place against the Army girl and the monkey suit Banachek was wearing. As Kitt's rag-tag family got out, the boy waved shyly at the girls, and Jess gasped in recognition.

"It's a very small world." Heather said dryly. "You should have told us your mechanic was Jess's boyfriend. We might have been more inclined to join you."

Banachek cast the boy a look. "Chris? Is that true?"

Chris nodded. "Yes sir." He offered Jess a goofy grin, and the girl giggled at the sight. Raven rolled her eyes. Banachek simply smiled.

"Since you already know Chris, then I only have to introduce you to one person. This is Lieutenant Emily Lake, my military liason. She's the one who keeps me from crossing the line, so to speak." He smiled fondly at the Lieutenant, and she smiled back. Heather almost laughed. They were also quite clearly family. She just couldn't tell if they were married or if Lake was his daughter. "So, what brings you here?" Raven glared at them.

"We're here to tell you we've turned to the light side." she said dryly.

"But only on one condition." Jess added hastily, trying to ignore Chris for the moment.

"What condition?" Banachek asked.

Borden gestured at the laptop. "We created our own AI." he said. "He needs a home. Preferably something very close in capabilities to what Kitt has."

Banachek nodded. "Easily done." There was a trace of doubt in his voice, and Drake realized they were going to have to tell the man the truth about Karr. Eventually. "Does the AI have a name?"

"I am called Karr."

"A bit redundant, don't you think?" the Army woman said dryly.

"That's beside the point." Borden snapped. "The question is, are you willing to take us on?"

Banachek grinned broadly. "Oh, but of course. Having one more AI-powered car will just make things that much easier." He started to get back in to the van. "Follow us. We'll show you the way."


	9. Fate

**Fate**

Three weeks passed. KITT found himself comfortable in the fancy garage the New Foundation used. The headquarters themselves consisted of five main buildings and perhaps a half-dozen other warehouses situated in the middle of a desert. A rutted dirt trail lead out to the buildings, which in turn were guarded by razor wire fencing and motion-activated alarms. At least one of those warehouses had to be where the guards slept, KITT figured.

Of the five main buildings there was a three-story mansion where everyone stayed and Banachek entertained government guests, the garage where KITT and KARR rested for the most part, a sort of computer room where new software was designed – not all of it for KITT and KARR – and two smaller buildings that were lined with lead. KITT couldn't scan what was in them, but he knew already. Raven and Heather had snuck in while Jess and Drake played lookout. Obviously if it was lined with lead, then no one was supposed to know.

In Raven's words, there were no secrets from really nosy friends. Both buildings were used as storage areas – one for food and water, the other guns and ammunition as well as other weapons. The girls were fascinated by the weaponry, but KITT had to wonder if the full implications of the storage houses had really sank in. Part of him wondered just how far they could trust the New Foundation. The rest of him realized they didn't have a choice.

In three weeks KARR had been placed in his new body. It was as fully equipped as KITT's Trans-Am, complete with Molecular Bonded Shell coating that had a slightly different chemical composition than KITT's. Then again, that's what happened when you had two different manufacturers making the same product.

The vehicle body in question turned out to be the flame red Barracuda that Borden and Drake had been restoring. In Banachek's words, it was easier to modify an already existing form than build a new one from scratch.

Raven and Jess had already left, taking KARR with them. KITT honestly didn't want to know. There was murder in their eyes as they took off. That had been an hour ago.

Heather walked into the garage. "You know, I think you live better than I do." she commented with an easy smile. "You have a bigger room."

"If I recall right, you picked the smallest room in the mansion." KITT pointed out dryly. "Banachek wondered about that."

"A throwback to living with Jess and Raven for so long." Heather admitted. She opened the driver's door and dropped into the seat. "Jess and Raven always get the biggest room, because they're so used to sharing one. I always took the smallest, because I'm used to having a room to myself." She chuckled. "I wonder how long this separate room thing will last."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, after a while, we all wind up in the same room." Heather said. "It's kinda funny when you think about it. It's a throwback from living with our parents, when we would spend the night at my house."

KITT considered that. "Did you ever spend the night at theirs?"

"Not really." Heather admitted. "Let's just say the peace lasted longer in my house and leave it at that."

KITT accepted that answer. "What brings you down here? Usually you want me to come to the mansion."

Heather grinned. "We're going on a road trip."

"Where?"

"That's a secret." She started the engine and KITT closed the door for her. "Bear with me, KITT – I'll get you there."

/---/

Jess and Raven had parked KARR on the edge of a small cliff. It was really more of a large sand dune with a sheer side, but for all practical purposes it was a cliff for them. KARR was on the other side of the dune with Jess and Raven lying on their stomachs facing the sheer side. Below them about ten feet was a dirt road, and according to KARR, a certain grey sedan would be coming down that track any minute.

"_Here he comes."_ KARR said over the comm. link.

Jess glanced at Raven. The other girl nodded. They had been planning for this ever since KARR had been officially moved into his new body. They had given him time to get used to the new form, and now they were finally ready. Raven reached up and touched her ear. For the moment, the comm. links were earplugs that had been altered with radios in them. Jess and Raven liked them well enough. Heather was always fidgeting with hers. She claimed it felt like it was going to fall out.

"Is it Moore?" Raven whispered.

A pause. _"Yes. He's driving well over the speed limit and is currently trying to avoid the cops."_ KARR chuckled darkly. _"He's done our work for us. I've detected three warrants out for his arrest. One of them is in Texas."_

Jess had to bite her lip to stifle the laughter. This was perfect. Raven set up with her air rifle and took careful aim. KARR guided her, telling her how to adjust to compensate for a moving target and the slight breeze coming in from the east.

"Just tell us when." Jess breathed.

KARR waited. Raven's reflexes were good, but she was still just human. He would have to tell her a few seconds ahead of time so she would be dead on.

The sedan was coming up fast. A quick calculation, then _"Now!"_

Raven fired the rifle twice. Both pellets shredded the front left tire. The girls watched in satisfaction as the sedan skidded out of control and slammed side-first into the dune. As the cops came skidding to a stop, the girls shimmied back down the dune and slid into KARR. Jess whooped and punched her fist in the air – as much as the cramped space would allow.

"We did it!"

"Yeah, we did." Raven said, more calm, but with a dark satisfaction in her voice. She was immensely pleased. "Out of sheer curiosity – were those warrants real?" she asked KARR.

"Of course." KARR said smoothly. "Moore is an arrogant man. He didn't anticipate us."

Jess grinned ear to ear. "No one does. Come on – let's get back to HQ before Banachek thinks to connect us to this."

"Agreed." Raven said. KARR started the engine and pulled away.


	10. Grief

**Grief**

Heather and KITT traveled a good fifty miles before she finally pulled onto a thin dirt road. Another two miles later, she pulled to a stop parallel to a broken down iron fence and killed the engine. KITT hesitated as he scanned the area. "I do not detect any human settlements here." he said after a moment. "Why are we here?"

He watched as she smiled. "This is a settlement. I found this place about nine years ago. Saw something of an oddity here, but I didn't think anything of it until recently." She got out and motioned for him to follow her. "Use your hologram. It's too crowded for the car."

KITT did as she asked. His hologram activated with a frown as he followed her around the fence and through a dismantled gate. It was obvious no one had been here in quite a long time. The woods had grown in around the place. There was simply no room for a house, or even a run-down shack. "The Trans-Am can make it through these trees." he reminded her.

"But it can't make it around these." Heather pointed, and Kitson finally looked.

It was a cemetery. Tucked away and forgotten by all of humanity. Now he understood. He froze. "Why here?"

"Because of something I found a while back that I didn't understand. Now I do, and I think you should see it." She guided him further into the cemetery. Kitson decided now was a good time to figure out what the heck was going on here.

"How do you know about a cemetery?" he demanded. "I didn't think this was a popular recreation among humans."

Heather laughed. "It's not." she said. "But I've never been what you call normal. I like the old cemeteries. You see some pretty cool stuff out here. Like this." She stopped and pointed at a relatively new headstone. It looked a bit out of place among all the crumbling rock with barely recognizable names, but this place was so far away from anything resembling civilization that no one would ever see the oddity.

But Kitson recognized it.

And KITT recognized the name.

MICHAEL KNIGHT.

No birth or death date. Nothing at all to indicate the kind of man buried under the stone, or even if there was a body buried there. Kitson knelt down to examine the stone more carefully. His scanners could have given him more information, but for now he was content with what his eyes could provide. He reached out to touch the stone, and to his surprise found his hand trembling.

"I thought it was odd." Heather said quietly. "A new stone, no dates. Everything out here has to be from colonial days, but that's marble. Not something you see in old headstones. So I sort of filed it away until I could find a reason for it. When you told us about Michael, I knew."

It took a moment for Kitson to find his voice. "Is it really him?"

Heather shrugged. "Does it matter? The name is the same. It's not like he's still here, but cemeteries always were more for the living than the dead." She put her hand on his shoulder. "You can say good-bye here. Get some closure. Tell him everything you couldn't while he was still alive." With that she turned and walked away, heading back over to the gate.

Privacy, Kitson assumed.

KITT couldn't say anything. What was there to say? Michael had been KITT's best friend, the only one who was willing to fight for him no matter what the odds were. For a moment, the grief threatened to overwhelm him. He hadn't wanted to outlive his driver. Not like this.

He glanced over his shoulder. Heather was standing patiently by the gate, singing to herself. She had brought him out here, knowing he needed something to hold on to. Raven and Jess where who knows where, probably exacting revenge on poor Moore. KITT didn't want to know what they were doing to the man. He wasn't sure he would disprove. Even KARR, scarily enough, had become like family to him.

There were parts of Michael that were present in the girls. His loyalty, his stubbornness – and, in Jess's case, his blatant disregard for the speed limit. If Bonnie and Michael had ever had children together, he imagined they would have turned out much like the girls. And maybe then it wouldn't have been so hard to let Michael go.

KITT looked back at the stone. "I kept my promise, Michael." he whispered. "I have new drivers now. Even KARR is on our side." A slight smile flickered across his face as he imagined Michael's reaction to that. "You would like the girls a lot. They're so full of life, and not a sane one in the group. I think KARR and I are going to have our hands full with them, so to speak." He touched the stone one final time before standing.

"Good-bye, Michael."

/---/

That afternoon found the group reunited in the garage. KITT and Heather pulled in not five seconds after KARR, Jess, and Raven had. Jess and Raven climbed out of the Cuda while Heather rested against the hood of the Trans-Am. "Did you guys get the job done?" she asked.

Jess and Raven exchanged smirks. "Oh, yes, we got it done." Jess said with a great amount of satisfaction. "And before you ask, KITT, he lived."

"Only by luck." Raven said dryly. "The rifle shoots low."

Heather grinned. So instead of taking out the engine she took out the tire. Not what they'd hope for, but it would do. "Any guarantee he'll stay off the streets?" she asked.

"Yes." KARR replied. "He's been extradited to Texas, pending a triple homicide investigation."

The girls exchanged looks. "Holy crap. Moore was a murderer?" Heather demanded.

"Yep." Jess said sourly.

Heather shrugged. "Well, he'll be facing 25 to life." she said. "So that solves that problem."

"Which leaves us with another problem." Banachek walked into the garage, completely ignoring the conversation from before. "FLAG knows who you are. If you want to work on the streets, you'll need to legally change your names. Everyone from Borden and Drake to you three." He motioned towards the desk, where three separate files rested. "I was thinking about following Michael Long's example and giving you the surname of Knight."

Raven looked back at KITT. "Is that all right?" she asked hesitantly.

KITT seemed to smile as he answered. "It is perfectly all right with me." he said.

KARR made a groaning sound. "The sisters Knight. Almost sounds like the Three Musketeers if you ask me."

Raven gave him a look. "How do you know about that?" she demanded.

Heather grinned. "I let him watch the Disney version while the mechanics were working on his car. Thought he could use something to entertain him."

KITT almost laughed. "Sisters Knight, indeed." he teased lightly. "This is going to be fun."

**The End**

An: Wow. This story is finally finished. There is a sequel in planning, which will pick up the story about three years down the line, so New Foundation will be an established business. So drop me a review, and until next time, I remain yours truly,

Shadowblade-tara


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